Java - Welcome to Java

Lilin Yu included in JAVA SE 11

2023-07-13 454 words 3 minutes

Contents

Java Environment

The Java Development Kit (JDK) contains the minimum software you need to do Java development, which includes

javac
java
jar
javadoc
jlink

The JRE was a subset of the JDK that was used for running a program but could not compile one.

Integrated development environment (IDE)

Change default java version in mac system:

list all java versions in your system: /usr/libexec/java_home -V
change to above version: export JAVA_HOME=`/usr/libexec/java_home -v <version no>`

Identify the benefit of Java:

Object-Oriented (vs Functional Programming)
Encapsulation (access modifiers)
Platform Independent (interpreted language vs compiled language)
Robust (automatic garbage collection, it prevents memory leaks)
Simple (no pointers, no operator overloading)
Secure (Java code runs inside the JVM)
Multithreaded
Backward Compatibility (make sure old programs will work with later versions of Java. Deprecation)

Understanding the Java Class Structure

An object is a runtime instance of a class in memory.

A reference is a variable that points to an object.

Members of the class: fields, methods

The method name and parameter types are called the method signature

CLASSES VS. FILES

A .java file could contain multiple classes declaration. If you do have a public class, it needs to match the filename. Each file can contain only one public class.

Writing a main() Method

run a program in two ways: javac -> java, single file sources-code command

Understanding Package Declarations and Imports

Java puts classes in packages. These are logical groupings for classes.

The * is a wildcard that matches all classes in the package. It doesn’t import child packages, fields, or methods; it imports only classes.

static import can import other types.

Importing so many classes will not slow down your program execution, because the compiler figures out what’s actually needed.

The package java.lang is automatically imported.

Name Conflict

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import java.util.Date;
import java.sql.Date;

In real life, always name your packages to avoid naming conflicts and to allow others to reuse your code.

Compiling and running code with packages

Compile code: javac packageA/classA.java packageb/classB.java or javac packageA/*.java packageb/*.java

Run classB: java packageb/classB

Using an alternate directory

By default, the javac command places the compiled classes in the same directory as the source code.

The -d (not -D) option specifies a different target directory for these .class files.

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javac -d classes packageA/*.java packageb/*.java

Run classB:

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java -cp classes packageb.classB
java -classpath classes packageb.classB
java --class-path classes packageb.classB

Compiling with Jar files

Todo: run program with jar file.

Creating a Jar file

Create a jar file containing files in current directory:

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jar -cvf test.jar .
jar --create --verbose --file test.jar .

Alternatively, you can specify a directory instead of using the current directory.

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jar -cvf test.jar -C dir .